Scientology + Nation of Islam Charter School to be Exorcised from the Earth Forever and Ever

What we've learned from years of reporting on Scientology is that if you don't watch carefully, it will get its tentacles into your school district or worm its way into your local city council chambers or somehow use one of its "secular" front groups to fool some other group of chuckleheads who don't see it coming from a mile away. However, that's getting a bit tougher for the church as more and more people seem to be keeping a vigilant eye on its every move.

Take the Tampa Bay Times, for example. We already knew about Joe Childs and Tom Tobin, the formidable duo who really ought to win some big prizes for their latest blockbuster series, "The Money Machine." But who knew the paper was nursing another great talent like this Drew Harwell fellow?

Harwell comes along and not only exposes a frightening bit of mold growing under a rock -- the surreptitious takeover of a Florida charter school by the unholy alliance of a Scientology front group and members of the Nation of Islam -- but in a little more than a week, his thorough expose has resulted in local school officials moving rapidly to close the abomination down.

Results! This is the advantage that sizable daily newspapers have over scribblers in their underground bunkers. Let's go back over the progression of this Tampa Bay Times takedown...

February 26: Harwell's investigation hits the front page of the Times. His piece is chock full of nightmarish details about Scientology front group World Literacy Crusade moving in on a charter school in trouble, installing a member of the Nation of Islam on the school's board, replacing the curriculum with Scientology's "study tech" and then sending the Crusade substantial payments even as the school was in bankruptcy. Harwell even tracked down that the school's president, Hanan Islam, was calling herself "Doctor" based on bogus credentials.

...since Islam came to Life Force some parents and former teachers charge that the school's children have been targets for recruitment by the Church of Scientology....All of this exposure to Scientology-related material violates prohibitions in the U.S. and Florida constitutions on religion in public schools....The church may freely open its own private schools, but it cannot infiltrate public schools like charter schools or have its teachings influence the curriculum. Life Force receives about $800,000 in taxpayer support per year....The sooner this school is shut down and Islam is given her walking papers, the better.

March 6: The school board does, indeed, give Islam her walking papers, approving a 90-day termination notice that will shut down Life Force, pending a possible public hearing.

Talk about textbook public service journalism.

So you might wonder, how is it that for so long Scientology has been able to get away with so many similar outrages over the years? Well, not every town has a Tampa Bay Times, or reporters like Harwell, Childs, and Tobin.

In fact, not even the Tampa Bay region can count on that kind of reporting when the Times isn't supplying it.

Here's what I mean: With that progression of Harwell's reporting and the results it produced in mind, I invite you to watch a report on the exact same story which appeared Tuesday night on Tampa's local Fox affiliate, WTVT Fox 13. Not only is there no indication that this story was blown wide open by a deeply reported series of stories in the Times, but reporter Steve Nichols never actually explains that Scientology and its "study tech" are at the center of the controversy...

I cannot think of a single good reason for why Nichols and Fox 13 whitewashed this story or didn't at least have the professional courtesy to acknowledge that the school came under scrutiny after an investigation by the Times.

I left a message on Nichols' voice mail last night, explaining my concerns about that, and asking him to please explain to me his thinking in presenting this story the way he did. I'm genuinely curious how he can possibly explain this kind of non-reporting reporting.

Wonder no more how Scientology gets away with so much.

Thursday's stats: Upstat or Downstat? Every Thursday, Scientologists race to turn in their weekly stats, and we like to do the same, assessing the church's fortunes in the world press. In this case, even with friendly treatment by the likes of Fox 13, I think there's a big downstat here, not only for how a Scientology front group tried to foist its "study tech" onto a public school, but also for bringing back to the news the bizarre relationship between Scientology and the Nation of Islam.

Story #2: More Front Group Missteps, a Hemisphere Away

Two more cases of Scientology front groups getting called out happened recently in Australia and New Zealand.

In New Zealand, a news report revealed that one of Scientology's anti-drug fronts had managed to score government grants to hand out its literature in schools. Kirsty Johnston's story contained these gems from commenters alarmed by New Zealand's tax money being used to support church nonsense...

"This kind of quackery should not be in our schools - we are talking about young people's lives," said a non-Scientology drug counselor.

"In the case of someone who is struggling with drugs, they are very vulnerable. So their exploitation by the church for their own ends is despicable," said a Green Party member of New Zealand's parliament.

Really, CCHR? Sticking your nose in a debate about kids and mental health? In Australia? Where your president is awaiting trial for allegedly covering up the molestation of a child in order to keep Scientology out of the news?

Thursday's Stats: Upstat or Dowstat? At least our antipodean press colleagues are quick to jump on the tentacles of Scientology reaching into places it doesn't belong. The downstats happening there never seem to cease.

That seems fast, but we hope it's true. For years, we've heard that Anderson's film will dramatize L. Ron Hubbard's post-war rise as the prophet of his own religion, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman as the Commodore. And despite studio denials that the movie is about Scientology's beginnings, it's hard to believe that a movie about a disillusioned WWII vet who starts a post-war religious craze won't at least have fun with Dianetics in some way.

Thursday's Stats: Upstat or Downstat? Hoffman is an obvious dead ringer for Hubbard, but who is Joaquin Phoenix supposed to be as a "drifter" who becomes the "Master's" most trusted aide? And is Phoenix's character going to pull a Dr. Winter on Hoffman's Hubbard? Well, anyway, all of the speculation will only build as the movie nears, which will lead all sorts of folks new to the scene to look into this Scientology thing on the Internet, and then, well, you know what happens. The church just can't seem to win these days...

UPDATE: Speaking of keeping a vigilant eye on things, one our tipsters snapped these photos of a truck that was blocking the driveway of the charter school Tuesday afternoon in Pinellas County. Note the Scientology logo on the back..

**********Tony Ortega has been the editor in chief of the Village Voice since March, 2007. He started writing about Scientology in 1995. You can reach him by e-mail at tortega@villagevoice.com, and if you ask nicely he'll put you on his mailing list for notifications of new stories, which tend to come out each and every morning at 8 am, but can suddenly appear at any time of the day. You can also catch his alerts at Twitter (@VoiceTonyO), at his Facebook author page, a Tumblr, and even this new Google Plus doohickey.

Lets do some old fashion justice.The kind of which L.R.H. him self would be proud of.Man over board...But let us do some thing about this treason. I fear I am not sure whom D.M. thinks he is? He is not that at all, that he believes himself to be.Anyone can be brought down by any single -simple person-outside of his caccoon...Every one of us; on one single day, go to our churches and such,and....and show krc-How arc;can play the game of life to it's final conclusions.This is unacceptable D.M. I suggest you make other plans.I do not support you as head of the church ,and ask for you to make a quit get away.NOW!

Just watched a video on YouTube (well, I got through the first few minutes and had to stop before I broke my computer) called 'HOW WE HELP S3 Ep1 - Applied Scholastics Pt.1. Aside from it being total nonsense, I was struck by the fact that the presenter said 'supposebly learned' at around 4:02. So here's a guy who's praising Applied Scholastics as the next big thing for helping kids, but he cant even say 'supposedly'. Thanks for the irony, Scientology.

As far as the upcoming "The Master" movie, which is not about Scientology,I give my thank you to all of the great actors agreed to participate, Paul T. Andersonand a very special thank you to you lady Megan.

As far as the red truck with the Scn badge on its behind, blocking the driveway,it's simply a misunderstandingful coincidence. Some people skip the gradient inparking their cars. Happens to anyone. Big deal. It's a nice red truck though!

I think you are giving Drew Harwell a bit too much credit and are pointing the finger a bit strongly at WVTV Fox reporters.

The school district staff in charge of charter schools was already in the process of reviewing Life Force Academy's 2012-2013 charter amendment/revision application long before this story came out and there was no mention at all in its review and recommendations about Scientology. I read the whole thing. Not a word. About study tech, nothing. The superintendent stated that 'Scientology had nothing to do with this.' And based upon the wealth of information obtained from the amendment sent in by Life Force and the subsequent staff review of it, they didn't need to pin it on Scientology or NOI being involved. It was that bad.

In the report were severe and disturbing points of evidence that Life Force manager Hanan Islam and her 'trustees' had their own agenda and and no intention of following state mandates, nor were they knowledgeable of what many of those mandates were. They were also ignorant of basic finance needs to pay for what they were planning. The unauthorized curriculum report mentioned and the school board was concerned about was one Life Force planned to use which Harwell reported was from another school run by scientologists.

From the SP times Feb 29th article:

[..] Life Force's proposed 209-page amendment is, in effect, a new charter, establishing a new budget, curriculum, leadership structure and name: the SMART Academy. But Stewart's memo and the staff evaluation suggested the amendment faced insurmountable odds: -The school's new curriculum would be provided by Bright Sky Learning, a for-profit company founded by Scientologists, and would not meet state standards.[..]

I think that the school district had been working very hard to document evidence in order to get rid of this poor performing school run by scientologist opportunists. This began when Life Force filed for bankruptcy last year. The charter amendment Life Force submitted late last year was a Christmas present to the Pinellas County School Board and Superintendent of the school district. I believe Drew Harwell took the story and ran with it, most likely aided by the upcoming review to be voted on Mar 6th which was posted on the school board agenda site well in advance of his news story first appeared. He did a terrific job and gave more fuel for the fire that was already set. I can't really blame the other reporters for not mentioning Scientology or Drew's story if all they did was get their information from the school board press releases and meeting to vote, along with the parents who want the school to stay. The school was voted to close and that is terrific news all around.

Whew! After some extensive research I finally found where David Miscavige is hiding, in China.

Kingdom of the Dwarves – Midget Theme ParkKunming, China – Centuries of culture and tradition have manifested into what is perhaps the single greatest entertainment venue ever conceived… A village of midgets singing an dancing in costume for your amusement!

You can't blame him for wanting to hide from us and run to this Utopian society. It's where short people can live together away from the insults and bullying of the outside world. I guess Village Voice (the other village ) has been a tad bit hard on him lately. Glad he found people that will except him...at least for a little while.

study tech can help you understand anything which is written, given everything writeen by LRH is superior to what anyone else has written - THE TECH this planet should run by, (KSW 1) if you use study tech on it you will completely understand it. Now something inane could also be understood by use of study tech. SO... if you don't understand and agree with something LRH wrote you have to apply study tech till you do. If you can't you have to go to ethics because you are an ethics particle - so do your doubt and liability and move up get into normal then back to the course room to understand and agree with LRH - see it works! i once said - because I could not do TR1 loud enough it was because 'Alice In Wonderland' is stupid and I hate using it. Yep, ethics, doubt because LRH said to use it and i disagreed, then Method nine word clearing the f...ing book. That is reading out loud and looking up the word you stumble on etc. What did i do - put on a happy face and startied shouting with a big cheshire grin on my face - then there is TR8 - using an ashtray, take this into schools and kids will get used to using one and smoking becomes acceptable - now you look at LRH early fiction and his books where had colour ads for ciggies - so get people smoking by 'association' with an ashtray cos they follow your every word, and through your fiction and you can get paid for product placement - money for fiction

We need a shoop of DM talking out of both sides of his mouth [in a $4500 suit and with his right arm locked in place and firmly pressing on the outer edge of the podium]: "Scientology is a religion with a lot of sacred scriptures and ecclesiastics and pastors and shit. But it's the most unreligionny of all the religions. Our 3-year business plan of getting The Tech into all public schools nationwide as a step in taking over the world (and getting our hands on all that public school cash) is strictly secular. Believe me, I may not be 'educated' in the sense that you wogs tend to think of education, but who the hell are you? You're nobody, and I'm Tom Cruise's best friend. I know the United States Constitution and its whole 'establishment of religion' bit, and you don't. You're glib."

Nation of islam and scientology together.What will it take to get the media and the government to pay attention to what is going on.Mabey when sciontologist's start flying planes into buildings,they will see that this is news and something that is worth talking about and deserves vilification.It amazes me that a drug addict singer or someone making a pasta salad can get the media attention like crazy when a sadistic,unscrupulous cult like sciontology is never mentioned.There is really something wrong with this.

that's right - utilize famous people wherever you go - like mixing sir edmund hilary with narconon in a book called kiwi tucker for the soul - how kiwi is narconon, oh maybe they got the calmag from galciers?

The thing is, every word wrote or said by hubbard was fiction. So was he lying ? Every thing said was a lie, the only truth he ever spoke is when he said he was lying, which I don't believe he ever said.

Oh Tony, you hit the nail on the head about non -reporting reporting. The truth must hurt. Ha!

Fox 13 is just as guilty as scientology and the NOI. Inconsistent reporting, unreliable and misleading reports about scientology (and now we know they'll cover for the Nation Of Islam too) is disgusting!

Ha! Fox 13 has now become part of the story creating/generating serious controversy to their credibility. Who cares about who duped these kids or where/what your hard earned tax dollars are truly going toward? Huh?!?

*shakes head*I guess this is just one more brick in the wall of media impotency.

Tony, I'd love for you to start a weekly series called, Non-Reporting Report. Bring the negligent, irresponsible media out in the open. Hold them accountable...or not. I think it would be entertaining making fun of the fluff pieces.

Moral of the story: Don't trust mainstream media for the truth when it comes to scientology because it's evident scientology calls the shots these days. Scientology is a Fortune 500 company who manipulates the media. Pro- scientology media thinks their readers fall for the bullshit cover-up lies, like we're a bunch of sheeple.

Village Voice, Tony Ortega - Tampa Bay Times, Joe Childs, Tom Tobin and Drew Harwell are true humanitarian journalists the public can count on because they don't slink away scared from responsible reporting. Saving the planet, one story at a time.

As I posted down below anyone wishing to get the most up to date and breaking news on all things $cientology set up a google alert for it. I get an email several times a day with links to any mention of the cult. From their great PR posts to the phenomenal articles exposing their crimes. I set mine up years ago, and it was how I found this blog, which in and of itself covers most of what happens. Cheers to Tony and the great reporters at Tampa Bay

One thing to note is that the students are safe. Florida curriculum has been re-established in the schools, monitors are there and, of course, interested and concerned parents, friends and neighbors are being vigilant.

But we are concerned about the blockage of the road by that SCN logo'ed truck. We are not sure that the blockage is legal for safety and other reasons and we wonder if the local law enforcement agency has been notified......

RE: The public education mess SCN/NOI created for themselves in Dunedin, FL

When Narconon Drug Education was being infiltrated into California public and charter schools (and elsewhere) back in 2000-2004, it seemed that SCN'er John Danielson (then Chief of Staff to federal Sec'y of Education Rod Paige, SCN'er Bob Adams (now a v-p) and SCN'er Jeff Quiros (still head of the SF Org) were very involved in this process. Perhaps others were, as well, and maybe Mike and Marty can shed some light on who else was involved at a high level back then.... Narconon Drug Education was not approved by the California Department of Education after their thorough review of the contents in March 2005 and we assumed that was one reason that Bob Adams did a stint in the RPF and, maybe, in the RPF's RPF. None of us seem to know what happened to John Danielson or to Jeff Quiros.....

I wonder how many of the above named people were involved in this current fiasco? And whose head(s) is/are going to roll because of this educational and PR failure ..... this story is getting nationwide coverage and, probably very soon, international coverage. After watching what SCN does with trying to get access to public education monies for a decade now, it has been evident to us that when SCN tries one of these stunts in one place, they almost always try the same stunt elsewhere. And now we have a "heads-up" network in place for the most vulnerable places that could be subjected to this abuse in the U.S. and, in some cases, in Britain, Euro, Asia, Africa and Central and South America, based on what SCN did in the past with Narconon Drug Education. All that was needed was for the team to dust off the old communications and records going back 10 years and re-contact the appropriate people/organizations.

What can you guys do out there? Call the person in your school district and in your state department of education who is responsible for charter schools and tell them what is going on in Florida. Also, contact your African-American religious leaders because this particular SCN/NOI collaboration is targeting the poor African-American students. If you find a similar problem, post about it in this forum which is widely read and respected.

All you right wing cock sucker Christian Republicans, THIS is why gods have no place in our school system. You morons are always crying about how your gods were "kicked out of school" despite the fact that you insane cock suckers are free to fuck your children's brains to the point where they're perfectly allowed to think at your deity constructs all they want. Then when *other* people's gods are dragged in to the school you fucking cult savages start crying. Sucks to be a shitting cult savage right wing cock sucking Republican traitor who hates everything our country stands for, huh?

The reason that we in RTC were assuring our friends in the Nation of Islam about things only yesterday is that we knew. We knew that NOI was about to face a baptism in fire courtesy of Big PharmaPsychiatry (BPP).

We knew that BPP was going to destroy the baby in its crib by nuking the Life Force school and Dr. Islam. Reason: Dr. Islam opposed shoving a funnel down the throat of every child under her care and force-feeding them a diet of Psych drugs and birth control pills as dictated by the Psychiatric Illuminati who run public education in the West.

We knew that that Tampa Bay Times, a division of BPP, was behind it.

We knew all of this because we in RTC are embedded in Fox and Fox is Rupert Murdoch and Murdoch is a crypto-Scientologist who has the means to get intelligence in many ways. Not all of the means are apparently 100% legal, but we in RTC never ask, we don't know, and we deny everything.

What we do know is that Fox Signals Org (FSO -- not to be confused with Flag Service Org) used a special "green scanner" to intercept NRO data on the BPP's sinister plan to drive a wedge between the Church of Scientology and the Nation of Islam.

BPP feared our united power to steer the minds of young people towards Sanity and away from both dangerously addictive street drugs and the "prescribed drugs" forced on children by drug pushers in white lab coats called Psychiatrists: That stethoscope Psychs wear might as well be a Mac 10 assault rifle because they are slowly and legally killing at least 3,000 children every hour of every day. The Tampa Bay Times never reports on the Psychiatric Killing Machine because BPP has ordered its lackeys there to attack the Scientology religion.

By way of closing, if only to cap it all, we in RTC work to expose the the double-teaming play of the Psychiatric Illuminati: If a drug pusher on the street can't get twelve year old kids hooked on crystal meth, why then Plan B calls for the schools to do it using Psychiatrists. Either way, BPP makes money and so do the fellows in Global Capitalism HQ who own all of the Psych drug companies that feed their very lucrative War on Drugs and Prison Industry.

The boat shoe-wearing magnificoes in Global Capitalism HQ are the Psychiatric Illuminati. They are Monsters in Khaki out to fiendishly destroy the planet.This is why Scientology Technology is so vitally needed to break up the stranglehold of Big PharmaPsychiatry aka the Psychiatric Illuminati.

We in RTC wear shiny black jackboots when we are fired on a mission. Well, we are on a mission to obliterate Big PharmaPsychiatry. We are about to kick down BPP's door using our shiny black jackboots. When these fellows are all in prison we will burn their boat shoes and khakis as a way of symbolically destroying them. However, we will keep their Ralph Lauren shirts as those shirts are actually quite nice. We in RTC agree with Global Capitalism about quality shirts.

The entire purpose here for organized scientology is to get all the money they can out of this as fast as they can. The same is true for their other major front groups found throughout ABLE and in WISE as well as their publishing house that promotes Hubbard's works of fiction (not that all of dianetics and scientology is not fiction anyway). Actually that is true even for their non front groups like "churches" and "missions". It's about the money (for those at the very top anyway).

And that is done by 1) draining such a group that is listed in the story above of all possible money now, 2) make new scientologists out of it who can then pay more money for "services" and 3) the non "upstats" who can't pay the big bucks are prime candidates for what is in effect slave labor so as to help organized scientology make more money.

Even most scientology staff who may have the best of intentions do not actually understand this.

"Study tech" is scientology's primary brige into society and it IS scientology. For example:

1) in the first "What is Scientology" book in 1978 Scientology said that study tech was Scientology tech;

2) in Scientology policy directive "Scriptures Defined" "scriptures" are defined as the written and recorded words of L Ron Hubbard and that includes study tech;

4) in another Hubbard directive "THE TECH OF STUDY" L Ron says: "The Tech of Study is new and is part of the Tech of Scientology"; and

5) Hubbard's stated manifestations connected with the three barriers of study (bypassing a word, absence of mass, skipped gradient) each and all have zero academic peer research or scientific study to show they are correct. As with his other "research" nothing is shown. Study tech is in fact NOT based on science. Instead you must blindly follow what Hubbard said as an act of faith. Thus it is "religious" and our schools should not be endorsing it.

Scientology constantly argues that their tech is religious so as to shield themselves from legal liability. They can't have it both ways when they use their unfounded and sometimes dangerous "study tech" to spread Scientology.

Nothing in sci-land makes sense? Was school in session while that truck was parked there? If I were a parent of one of those kids, I'd be pretty concerned that a creepy scientology truck was blocking the drive-way of my kids school.

Hey, Scientology and Nation Of Islam:

We don't need your education We don't need no thought controlHey! Scientology! Leave those kids alone!All in all, it's just a Nother buck in your hand.

And to think you buy that kind of humiliation. When I first started reading accounts from Scientology's ex-members on the web, I thought it was a cult of masochists or something. Now, I understand more about the gradient but still have trouble imagining myself in it, EXCEPT if I were raised in it. Then I don't know what would have happened to me...probably Mace-Kingsley ranch for wayward boys who have bad thoughts about Hubbard.

This is Thursday! On Thursdays between 2:00 pm to 2 am all caged areas in ScientologyWorld transform into this Twilight Zone where time stands still and everything moves in slow motion, even those who think they are still sprinting. You can see people mouthing words, but no sounds come out. No, really. It is that surreal.

Scientology worldwide has been so downstat for so long, they're probably all out at the Clay Demo Tables trying to make new cavities.

Moar leik they didn't wanna get sued by $cientology or shot by one of Farrakhan's "Death Angels".

I don't doubt that part of the reason for this unholy alliance is that now the Demented Midget has his own "Murder Inc" to outsource the dirty work to, he doesn't have to rely on those nerdy white kids in the OSA anymore and he has plausible deniability.

We in Global Capitalism HQ applaud the ability of you in RTC to dodge out of the way at the last second and leave the Nation of Islam holding the bag after the school board stomped so harshly on your Life Force Academy gig.

That is exactly what we in hedge funds do thousands of times a day... we hold on to a stock until the last possible moment before bad news comes out then we sell it to legions of unsophisticated senior citizens who like to "play the market." They are the ones holding the bag when the music stops. Our game of market musical chairs is like the one you in RTC play every so often with executives in the Hole, except that ours takes less time and it looks more civilized on the surface, so it is a tolerated, if misunderstood, ritual of daily life.

We in Global Capitalism HQ wish to point out for the sake of factual accuracy that the Tampa Bay Times, like all our media properties, does not report to our Big Pharma Psychiatry operating unit. In RTC terms, it's on a different org board. We have a much more flexible governance structure that allows any of our various corporate entities to get story ideas into print as fast as necessary.

How do you think several of our tourism-related businesses generated so much interest in your legal tribulations in San Antonio practically overnight, which got you panicked enough to hire 62,000 lawyers as you remarked the other day, which immediately drove record profits in our area hotel properties and an "unprecedented expansion" in the occupancy rate for the AlamoDome? If the Times reported up through BPP, the tourism people would probably be still negotiating with the pharma advertising guys to cut down the ads for erectile dysfunction ads in the paper to make room for a story that, once planted, will make us millions. Instead, the cash from your legal adventures is already rolling in.

We in Global Capitalism HQ wish to disagree respectfully with RTC's analysis of the demand for the psych drugs we sell. We in Global Capitalism HQ point out that you in RTC are actually our best salesman. If you had not raised prices for attaining OT VIII at a rate ten times faster than inflation over the last 40 years (as we showed a couple weeks back in our analysis), we might be worried about you as competition. Today, a course of some of our personal favorite anti-depressants costs perhaps $4,000 per year. But going from OT III to OT IV costs at least $25,000 and takes at least a year to complete. So even if your "tech" worked, an admission that we do not make, it's still six times what it costs for us to push pills.

The insurance companies we own pay for the psych drugs made by other companies we own because we tell them to. But if you came along with something that worked, even, say 30% of the time, but which cost only $2,500, we'd kick the pharma companies to the curb overnight. Actually, since we wear boat shoes, which lack steel toes and offer far less ankle support than your jackboots, we'd basically nudge them in the right direction with our toe to get them to take themselves to the curb, so it would take a couple days, rather than literally happening overnight.

If you cut prices to competitive levels, we'd make the insurers pay for OT IV auditing instead of psych drugs. We'd save $1,500 per head per year, and we'd keep the premiums the same. With 48 million Americans on psych drugs, $1,500 per year translates into incremental profits for our insurance companies of $72 billion per year. The offsetting hit to Big Pharma is only a small percentage of that because of the manufacturing cost and R&D bills that we have to pay. We in Global Capitalism HQ revel in the fact that RTC thinks it is shutting us down but all RTC's amusing little schemes seem to end up making us richer than they make you.

Since you in RTC are hell-bent on your strategy to maximize your unit price rather than aggregate revenue, we tell companies that allowing us to reimburse Scientology auditing services would make premiums soar even further than the 20% annual increases we shove down their throats. They are grateful at the apparent fiscal restraint we exhibit on a daily basis and invariably sign up for the optional "Psych Prescription Plus" coverage module.

Speaking of jackboots, thank you for letting us know that you have fired a mission to bust down some pharma doors using your shiny new kicks. Fortunately, we put that information to work buying a bunch of out-of-the-money "put" options on the NYSE Pharmaceutical Drug Index (the "DRGX"), in sufficient size that we have more than covered our long positions in the underlying stocks. So thanks to the magic of the markets, we've priced in a realistic assessment of what you might accomplish should this be more than mere bluster, and we make money either way. That is the beauty of hedge funds. We in Global Capitalism HQ love our life.

Even more amusing, by announcing your intention to deliver market-moving news in this public forum, there is no way, no how that we have engaged in anything close to insider trading. Not that anybody ever really goes to jail for that anyway, but we prefer to be tidy with respect to loose ends.

Finally, we are glad that we are in complete agreement with RTC about the value of nice shirts. We find that Ralph Lauren not only washes up nicer but also holds a pressing longer than less expensive haberdashery, including those awful poly/cotton blends put out by that Trump fellow, one of the few real estate tycoons we don't own.

I happen to know that OTVIIIisGrrr8! is Heber Jentzsch on an amends project to work his way out of the RPF's RPF's RPF's RPF.

There is actually nobody on post in RTC anymore, they're all in the Hole. For his amends project, which he does on his "own" time during the 15 minutes each day while the other Holees eat their slop, Heber is allowed to wear all of the RTC hats at once to strike an effective blow against the enemy.

The number one enemy? Tony Ortega of course! Shouting, "The RPF's RPF's RPF's RPF is what you make it! The RPF's RPF's RPF's RPF is where you make it!," Heber logs on to VV to launch a devastating 15-minute attack straight into the midst of the SP's.

Heber's amends project is to clear the Internet. Yes, *all* of it. When at last he as-is's the Internet, he'll attest that he was mocking it all up, and in the blink of an eye it will vanish. Davy will let him advance to the RPF's RPF's RPF, where Heber dreams of a hero's welcome, which is to say, a festive trash can shower, and first pickings at the slop du jour.

Ortega and the Internet would be gone already, if not for OTVIIIisGrrr8!'s one weakness!! Step 1 of his Battle Plan is devastating: Taunt the SP's!!! But due to lack of sleep, he always spaces out before he can think of a Step 2. So laugh while you still can, puny SP's!

Hoping you'd show up. Wasn't it in the 70's when FP (financial policy) in the Sea Orgs got slaughtered and something like 80% right off the top (gross income, not net) had to be sent upstairs I believe to the GO to fight off all the SP's at the door? I'm wondering if the same is happening since the IAS went crazy with greed.

I don't know the particulars on ABLE, as to what % of the money they raked in went up the lines. I do remember private tutors got hit with mandatory $ going to ABLE, even though they weren't an organization at all and this began about 2005 or 2006.

Oh, and you forget another Major reason for study tech: When you've beaten yourself in the head trying to make sense of Hubbard's crazed ramblings, but still can't, Hubbard's study tech lets you know it's because you still have a mean old word in your way Or, you have crimes, and that There Is No Other Reason (except maybe you read Village Voice).

Great article, Larry. This is what journalists should be reporting nationwide when the Scientology cult endorses 'study tech' in public schools.

One question I have for you Larry is how is Narconon able to function? The purification rundown and the TR's course are what is delivered in these drug rehab centers. Both those are delivered in Scientology cult centers as 'religious services'. How are they able to deliver this without any scientific proof that it works? Thanks, in advance.

CLEARWATER — Former Scientologists Lynne Hoverson and Bert Schippers of Seattle are Scientology outcasts. The church declared them "suppressive'' last year for publicly criticizing church operations.

But Pinellas Circuit Judge John A. Schaefer ruled this week that if the couple wants to try to get back the $27,583 they left on account at Scientology's church in Clearwater, courts can't intervene, as the couple had hoped.

Prior to mid 1981 both the GO and Sea Org units were taking money off the top. The AG Finance took it for the GO and the Flag Banking Officer took it for the Sea Org.

Then by later 1981 the GO was gotten out of the picture and the CMO ran the entire show, as directed by LRH and Miscavige depending on the time and particulars.

I was on Watchdog Comittee for about a year and a half in the early 80s and money was constantly being pulled out of the orgs. Even LRH said to take all you could from them before they spend it. Never mind org staff could hardly afford to eat or often have to live in worse than slum like conditions while not being able to pay for the proper care of their own childen.

Because just taking such huge sums was very riskly legally, the "corporate sortout" just disguised it all with better phony billings and the like to be more "defensible". In some cases different trusts were set up to hold such money but secretly they were controlled by the same people who controlled the rest of organized scientology.

For example in late 81/early 82 we launched a films trust to take 5 or 10% of the orgs' money weekly "in exchange for" their rights to show films in the org. Other nonsense was used to justify a much bigger percentage of the orgs' money such as huge billings for missions, evaluations, participation in promotional campaigns, you name it.

Who made out financially bigtime on the films were both the Sea Org that controlled the films trust and LRH. LRH was given at least in the low millions for his work on those completely cheesy scientology orientation and training films. Heck I remember being over at Author Services and being shown these little, less than one page "treatments" for the films and for each ASI got the hundreds of thousands they wanted. It was a complete joke where LRH made millions, the powers that be in the Sea Org controlled other millions while the orgs and their staff starved.

I have not been following Narconon since the very beginning days of Narconon Chilocco when I attended their opening events and when, before that, I did the video for their "int landlord" to make recommendations for what buildings to renovate to get it started and then going.

I'm sure someone on here can cover how they have survived to date as I don't really know. But I am sure they covet any possible government and insurance money they can get.

The last example I actually heard of someone trying to get money to Narconon was where David Miscavige's twin sister called Kyle Brennan's mother, Victoria, recommending big payments to Narconon to "save" her child Kyle. Victoria pleaded with them that Kyle had no drug problem, to leave Kyle alone and not to take his prescribed medication away from him.

We all know what happened right after that where scientology "tech" justified taking his medication and Kyle tragically dying right after that.

So completely sad and in every way tragic yet that is scientology and scientologists in action. Through their blind beliefs in Hubbard "tech", they prey on those desperate for help to send their last dollars to scientology which has no solutions.

I suspect that a goodly percent of money gotten to Narconon was like the above. And I suspect while some people saw a way to make money in this, many people who got others to Narconon thought they were helping.

But they were not. Hubbard was no great researcher into the mind or anything else of value. He was a man who himself had severe mental problems and a willingness to destroy others for his own worldly gain.

Heck I remember being on the receiving end of demands from Miscavige and his minnions in Author Services to legally justify money to Hubbard every single week for phony services rendered. In part of 1982 alone Hubbard got over $40 million in scientology money while many were horribly abused to get him that money (even their own mission holders and staff up to and including the Watchdog Committee).

I also had at least a couple hundred orders directly from Hubbard between 1975 and 1983. He constantly whinned for his money behind the scenes while proclaiming to scientologists the world around that he was a wonderful man who took no money from scientology except for his book royalties.

What a pity that so many well intentioned people have been betrayed by Hubbard, MIscavige and scientology.

When so much money had been successfully laundered into cash, precious metals, real estate investment trusts and silent partnerships, it is difficult to believe anyone would think for one moment of plowing it back into the cult where it would again risk scrutiny by IRS, courts and prosecutors. I think Karno must have diverted a few properties to his own use, and quietly handed over the rest to the Lenskes or to Starkey as LRH's trustee, just a hand carried pile of stock certificates, corporate charters and account numbers that would never go onto the cult's books.

If I'm not mistaken, Hubbard's $40M and "suitcases of cash" that he had at Creston, is what got plowed back into the cult. Well, you wrote that at the end of your post. Miscavige and the gang were panic stricken that that money would end up going to Hubbard's family, that's why they had operations to handle Mary Sue and the rest of them. I'd be surprised if Ron Jr. got more than a hundred thousand for shutting up about what a fraud his father was years earlier. Mary Sue and Arthur were probably paid off with a few million each after Ron croaked, maybe more I don't know.

Who knows though, anything is possible? Only Miscavige knows for sure, or as you mentioned, possibly Starkey and/or Broeker. It does seem like Hubbard would have wanted to invest in something legitimate to hedge the possibility of the cult collapsing and seizure of funds. It boggles the mind how easy it would be for Miscavige to have diverted some of this money into a secret account, if not after Hubbard croaked, sometime since then. That's why Debbie's testimony could be potentially cult-shattering if it goes to trial. Not because she knows where the secret money is, but because she knows things about where the millions go that Flag makes.

If I recall correctly, in the Grenada TV interview, Hubbard claimed not only was he not making money from Scientology, he claimed his earnings were not from Scientology books, but from his fiction. He was such a successful penny-a-word pulp writer you know.

Thanks Larry. That was all very informative. I've posted on Marty Rathbun's blog about how Hubbard started the abuse by introducing over-boarding, locking children up in chain lockers, and pushing a peanut till nose was bloody on the Apollo. Shockingly Marty didn't censor that comment. He only responded that I 'put too much focus on 2nd and 3rd hand hearsay and 50 years of motivating'. I responded, 'There plenty of people still alive who contribute to this board that witnessed Hubbard give these orders. Honesty is the best motivation'. Typical of Marty, he didn't reply back.

I wish him, Rinder, and Cook the best of luck taking down Miscavige and the cult but they are in such denial. This is cognitive dissonance at work here. They are such 'tech' junkies that they will acknowledge to a certain degree that Hubbard was flawed(really? Wow!), but will ignore his crimes against humanity.

By the way, what a greedy bastard that Hubbard was to demand that money for selling his snake oil. to think about how many people suffered under that son of a bitch.

How could LRH possibly spend $40M in one year? A ranch in Creston, a Bluebird motorhome and some horses and cameras could hardly total more than $1M all together. Say another $2M for Miscavige and Broeker's gambling trips to Las Vegas. What happened to the rest?

My theory is, LRH was buying oil wells and shopping malls that would give him multimillions in "legit" income unconnected to Scientology. Norton Karno made the purchases through untraceable dummy shell corporations. When Hubbard died, his hidden empire passed through Starkey's hands briefly and now Miscavige controls it - another reason why Starkey, like Annie Tidman and Mary Sue Hubbard, will spend the rest of his life in Scientology detention.

In 1982 in PAC (L.A. area where many scientology organizations are clustered, also called Big Blue) the buildings were in need of many repairs and replacements, but most of all...

The staff were starving and hurting in every way, while all those millions were funnelled up the lines. This is why I want to project upward and out my inner intestines when I hear anyone say Hubbard might have had a few "flaws". (censored thoughts here)

The #1 reason for the beginning of the mass exodus: Staff were literally dying. Some were so bad off they had absolutely no clue how bad off they were, and limped away reluctantly.